Place a Stone on Oskar Schindler's Grave

If you were inspired by Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List, then you pay want to pay your respects to the man who saved so many lives during the Holocaust. A special epilogue to the movie was filmed at Oskar Schindler’s gravesite in Jerusalem with the help of 128 Schindlerjuden brought in from around the world along with his wife Emilie. One by one they each placed a stone on his grave. The pile remains to this day and continues to grow.

It is a Jewish sign of respect to leave a stone on a grave, a tradition that started in ancient times when grave monuments were mounds of stones that people added to when they visited signifying that monuments to the deceased are never finished being built. The five-letter Hebrew abbreviation taf, nun, tsadi, bet, hey, which stands for "teheye nishmato tsrurah b'tsror ha Chayyim" and usually translated as "May his soul be bound up in the bounds of eternal life" is inscribed on many gravestones. Yet tsror (the fourth word of the Hebrew phrase) can also be translated as "pebble" giving the phrase a deeper meaning, based on the historical significance of pebbles. In ancient times, a shepherd would carry a sling over his shoulder filled with pebbles (tsror) corresponding to the number in his heard as a way to keep track. A sign above the arched metal gate at the Catholic cemetery at Mount Zion reads “TO OSKAR SCHINDLER’S GRAVE”. After you enter the gate, walk down to the lower level and you will see the tomb beside the walkway. The huge pile of rocks stacked on top makes it stand out above the rest. A German inscription in the headstone reads “ the unforgettable savoir of 1200 prosecuted Jews”. A quote from the movie said “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire” - the 7500 living descendents of the Jews he saved made him one of the wealthiest and most powerful men to ever walk the earth.

In 1999, a suitcase belonging to Schindler was found in the attic of a house in Germany where he had been staying at the time of his death. The case contained over 7000 photographs and documents including a list of all of his Jewish workers along with a copy of the farewell speech he gave before leaving “his Jews”. The contents of this historical case are now on display at the Holocaust Museum of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Entrance Gate to Catholic Cemetary

Teresa the Traveler places a stone on Schindler's grave

Oscar Schindler's Grave

Oscar Schindler's Grave

Oscar Schindler's Grave

Oscar Schindler's Grave

Fast Fact:

Schindler died in Frankfurt on October 9, 1974. Shortly before his death, he requested to be buried in Jerusalem, because, he said, “My children are there”.He is the only member of the Nazi Party to be buried in the Christian cemetery at Mount Zion in Jerusalem and honored at the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel as one of the “Righteous among the Nations”.

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